Kvistr (Book 1 Of The Empire Saga)
by MelNichols18
Summary: Three years have past since Eragon defeated Galbatorix. As if in preparation for the new Rider order has dawned, peace has been restored to the country and two eggs are about to hatch for two very lucky Riders. Who will be the new Riders? What adventures and challenges will they face? And will Eragon and Arya finally be together?
1. Prologue

Eragon Kingkiller sat around the sapphire blue camp fire with his head lowered. He gave a sigh and stared into the flames produced by his dragon Saphira, whom was currently curled up around him, her bulk encircling almost the whole camp. She had grown immense in the last three years, and she would continue to grow for the remainder of her life. Around him, Eragon observed the surviving members of the team that set out to accompany him and Saphira three years ago, leaving behind the familiarity of the Du Weldenvarden forest in Alagaesia, shortly after Eragon had killed the previous kind Galbatorix, a Dragon Rider who had brought nothing but evil and tyranny to the once prosperous country. But, the differences between Eragon, whom was also a Dragon Rider, and the now-dead king was immense. Galbatorix had been human and had become mentally deranged and cruel after the death of his first dragon, his only true pairing. Eragon was a hybrid of human and elf, and he was still sane, kind and compassionate while his Saphira still lived. He expected to become much like his father, Brom, if he were to lose Saphira, but he knew he'd never be anything like Galbatorix.

And now, three years after Galbatorix's death, only a third of the twelve elves that had accompanied Eragon and Saphira outside of Alagaesia survived. Life out here had been hard, the group having no knowledge or experience about what lay outside of Alagaesia, and new surprises often took an elf's life before the rest of the band could figure out how to stop it. When Eragon looked around, he saw only how downtrodden the group had become. Even Saphira, whom was often the source of wisdom and guidance Eragon went to, didn't know what to do anymore.

_Saphira, we can't stay like this much longer. The stress will kill the rest of the elves, if some unknown creature doesn't do it first. _Eragon kicked a stone into the fire as he spoke his dragon through their mental link that only Riders and their dragons could share.

_I agree, little one. But, what should we do? We've come so far. How would we know where to go? _

As always, Eragon was comforted by Saphira's voice. His bond with her was so strong that he could not sleep and wanted to curl into a ball of loneliness if they were parted by a distance great enough for their link to break. This had happened a few times in their history, but thankfully not since they had left Alagaesia.

_There is one place that is already well-suited for dragons and Riders. Alagaesia. I know that we dismissed all of the possibilities within Alagaesia because of bloodshed that occurred there, but they are preferable to us raising the new Riders out here where we could lose a student every day. I'd rather the young Riders and dragons are safe in Alagaesia, even if the stronghold is someplace where lives were lost._

_Then let us begin the return journey in the morning. We have had nothing but failure out here. We must return._

With that decided, Eragon quickly informed the remaining four elves of their decision. For the first time in three years, the elves smiled and even began to sing in celebration. Eragon joined in the songs while Saphira hummed with them.

The next day, while the elves were packing up camp, Eragon used his mirror to talk with those in Alagaesia. Draumr Kopa was the spell, meaning Dream Stare in the ancient language that controlled magic and the energy of the world, and this technique was a variation of scrying. With this, he could see, hear and talk to the one on the other side of the mirror.

First, he revealed the news to Queen Arya Shadeslayer of the elves. She was first because she was his queen, the woman he had fallen in love with four years ago, and the only Dragon Rider besides himself.

Arya took the news very well, in her elfish way. It seemed that all elves were hesitant to show their emotions, but Eragon knew Arya. The two of them had an extensive history during the last year of Galbatorix's reign, so he was able to look under the mask she put up and see the joy she was concealing. Clearly, she had missed him as much as he had missed her, which lightened his heart. Before he had left, Arya had revealed that she liked him in the same way that he liked her, and she had finally been willing to act upon those feelings. Then, they couldn't because Eragon was leaving and didn't expect to return. But, now, they could finally be together.

The call didn't last very long. Arya was Queen, after all, and so had to see to her entire race's safety and well-being. When one of her guards informed her she had a visitor, Eragon let her go and immediately called his cousin Roran, whom lived in their hometown of Carvahall in Palancar Valley, nestled along the ridge of the treacherous mountain range known as the Spine in Alagaesia.

The mirror, Eragon could see, was situated in the living room and the first sight was his beloved niece, Ismira, playing with one of her toys.

"Ismira." Eragon called to her and smiled brightly when Ismira looked up and shrieked in delight when she saw her uncle. She ran to the mirror, as she usually did, and tried to hug the expanse of glass.

"Uncle Eragon! I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you, too, button. Is your mother or father around?" He asked gently. He loved his niece dearly and so he treasured the times he had called the family.

"Father is not in the house today, but I can get Mother for you."

"Would do that, please, sweetheart?"

Ismira nodded and half ran, half bounced out of the room, shouting the whole way for her mother, Katrina, Roran's wife.

He could hear Ismira as she talked with her mother. He couldn't make out Katrina's words or tone very well, but Ismira's voice was crystal clear. Three year olds didn't have much control over the volume of their voice even when they didn't have much to be excited about, and Ismira was very excited so she was louder than she normally was. And then Ismira appeared in the doorway, practically dragging her mother along. Katrina then saw Eragon and picked up her daughter as she went to the mirror.

"Eragon! Its been so long since you've called. How are you?"

"We've lost an elf since I last called, but that's not why I'm calling. Would it be possible for Roran to come to the mirror as well?"

"Of course. He's just out in the stable. I'll send our butler to get him."

"Thanks, Katrina."

"Mommy, put me down. I wanna talk to Uncle Eragon." Ismira begged, wriggling like mad. Eragon smiled and chuckled. He could always count on his Button to cheer him up. Katrina gently set her daughter down in front of the mirror and quickly excused herself before she left. While she was gone, Eragon listened as Ismira rambled on about her day and any significant events she remembered happening lately, which mostly consisted of news from her friend, Hope, Carvahall's blacksmith's daughter. Hope had been born with a cat lip, a slit that ran from under her nose to her upper lip. In Carvahall, most children who were born with such an ailment usually died of starvation, the slip causing difficulty when the baby tried to nurse. But, Eragon had been outside Horst's tent the night Hope had been born and so he was able to use magic to carefully sew the slit closed. He had been so worried that he would distort how her face would look when she was older, not having full confidence in himself after a disastrous blessing that altered a young baby's life in the opposite of how he had intended.. Thankfully, he had already tried his best to make amends to Elva, the recipient of his blessing, and now whatever pain Elva suffered from, it was her choice to suffer, where it had not been before. And she no longer held ill feelings toward Eragon so his conscience was clear, mostly. Now, Hope was usually over when Eragon called so he had been able to see that his fears were for naught. There was no evidence of the cat lip and her face had not been distorted in Eragon's attempt to help.

Eragon delighted in learning about his niece's life, and he treasured these moments with her for the simple fact that this was his niece, and she was made even more precious because he hadn't held her since he had departed Alagaesia and he missed her terribly. But he didn't have much experience so he mostly just sat and listened, smiling and pointing out the obvious since he didn't know what else to do.

Before lone, Katrina and Roran came jogging into the room.

"Eragon!" Roran exclaimed as he settled down behind his daughter. "Jeez, man, we've been worried sick. How are you?"

"A lot better now, actually. Saphira and I were doing some talking last night and we've decided that the journey is no longer worth losing lives over. There are plenty of good possible strongholds in Alagaesia so we're coming home."

"Really?! You're not pulling my leg on this?" Roran questioned as Ismira ran into her mother's arms to celebrate.

Eragon laughed. "No, Roran, I'm serious. We're coming home. And Now that we know where we're going, we're going to be there faster than we've been traveling. Saphira's big enough to carry our band for a short distance if she flies low. Exactly when we get close, I don't know, but I'll keep you updated."

"That's wonderful, Eragon! Katrina and I have missed you like crazy these last three years."

"I've missed you, too, Roran. And you, Katrina."

"And you as well, Eragon. How has Saphira fared?"

"She's perfectly healthy. We've learned that most of the animals we come across make good prey for her so she's enjoying the variety and has really refined her hunting techniques. Well, our hunting, more like. She scares the prey towards our nets and gets first pick of the animals. So, she's really flourishing. The skies here are clear and they have great wind currents above the massive trees."

And so they continued talking for a length of time until it was time for Ismira's nap. Eragon ended the call and called his foster brother and king, Kind Orik of the dwarves, to tell him the news. Orik, of course, was overjoyed, and agreed to meet Eragon's party at the same spot where they had departed.

After the battle of Farthen Dur between the rebel group the Varden and the Empire's soldiers, in which Eragon killed Durza the Shade, Orik's foster father and predecessor, King Hrothgar, had accepted Eragon into his clan of Durgrimst Ingeitum, one of the thirteen dwarven clans, making Eragon the first non-dwarven born person to be accepted into a dwarven clan. And then, after Hrothgar was killed by Murtagh, Eragon's half-brother, whom had been working for Galbatorix at the time, Orik and much of the dwarven force that was supposed to join the Varden back to Farthen Dur to begin the process of selecting another ruler. After another battle, Eragon was sent by his liege lady, and then Varden leader, Nasuada to go to Farthen Dur and do whatever he could to make sure the new king or queen supported the Varden. While Eragon was there, Eragon was attacked by the clan Az Swelden Rak Ahnuin. After exposing that clan as the perpetrators, Orik was elected king.

Eragon loved Orik like they had been blood related. It was actually because of Orik that Eragon, Saphira, Murtagh and the unconscious Arya had been granted access to the Varden, thus saving them from death by a horde of Kull, a race of eight foot tall Urgals that were even more blood thirsty and war-driven than their smaller comrades. Orik had defied orders and opened the hidden door in the mountain, and then he had dived underwater to rescue Eragon as he had been drowning, weighed down by his heavy sword. Actually, that sword , Zar'roc, was now Murtagh's sword. Zar'roc had been wielded and created for Murtagh's father, Morzan, a close friend of Galbatorix. Morzan had been as evil and twisted as Galbatorix and was the first of the thirteen Riders whom had betrayed their order. After Eragon's father, Brom, had taken his revenge on Morzan for killing his dragon, Brom had kept Zar'roc and, while hunting down the creatures called the Ra'zac for killing Eragon's uncle, Brom had given the sword to Eragon shortly before his death.

Eragon and Orik talked for a long time before Eragon excused himself. He still had to call two more people.

After Orik, Eragon next called Nasuada, the Queen of Alagaesia, his liege lady. He quickly updated her on what was happening and was actually rather surprised to discover that he didn't have to call his brother, Murtagh. Murtagh was actually there with Nasuada. Like Eragon and Arya, Murtagh was also a Dragon Rider. His dragon was ruby red, while Saphira was sapphire blue, and Arya's dragon, Firnen, was emerald green.

Murtagh was standing next to Nasuada, never leaving her side. Murtagh insisted it was because he was her protector, her body guard, but Eragon saw a deeper bond between the two that went beyond business. But it wasn't really his business. He was just glad that Murtagh had finally found some happiness in his life. Murtagh, being Morzan's son, had led a very difficult life. As a child, Murtagh had been used by Morzan as a means to control his and Eragon's mother, Selena. As he grew up, Murtagh enlisted himself to Galbatorix, having been deceived by Galbatorix's charming voice that he used only to get people to join his side. It didn't take Murtagh long to figure out he was on the wrong side, but by the time he did, it was too late. Galbatorix figured out Murtagh's true name and used it to make him swear his allegiance to Galbatorix in the ancient language. And then he did the same thing to Thorn after Thorn hatched. But, now that Galbatorix was dead, Murtagh and Thorn had gone on their own to cleanse their souls of Galbatorix's evil.

After talking with the two of them, Eragon was finally forced to end the call. Using any magic used energy, and he had been calling everyone for the last three hours, which amounted to an incredible amount of energy, leaving Eragon about ready to pass out. To steady himself, Eragon drew some energy from the surrounding plants. Now bolstered, he helped in cleaning up the camp and then he put Saphira's saddle on her back. With everything completed, Eragon, the elves and Saphira all drank their fill of the water, and then ate their fill of the meat they had not eaten the previous night, before the elves and Eragon climbed onto Saphira's back, gripping the horn in front of them for balance as she stood up and got a running start at a hill that she used to jump off of before she took to the sky.

Once in the air, Saphira was able to quickly locate the wind currents and the Eldunari that were hidden from sight used their energy to help her get there before she tired.

An Eldunari is a dragon's heart of hearts, a place where their soul can go if the dragon so chooses after their body is killed, and is the dragons' most treasured secret. Riders and dragons didn't learn about the heart of hearts until they had completed their training because of the gravity of the decision the dragon must make. Before a dragon's death, that dragon must decide to put a piece of its soul into the Eldunari. If it doesn't, the soul enters the abyss of death after its body is killed. If the dragon does make this decision, however, the soul lives on so long as the Eldunari is undamaged. Like an organ, the Eldunari cannot eat, breathe, sleep or breed, but it can communicate with its holder and transfer energy to that person.

Eragon currently has more than a one hundred and thirty Eldunari with him, and two hundred forty-five dragon eggs, six of which were the offspring of Saphira and Firnen. He had left five of the Rider-bound eggs he had recovered in Doru Araeba behind with Arya, hoping the dragons inside would hatch for one of the five races in Alagaesia equally. Now that he was returning, though, he'd have to figure out a new distributions system, to be sure every child of every race in Alagaesia got their chance to hold a dragon egg and find out if they are destined to be a Rider.

Eragon thought heavily on this subject, talking with Saphira and the other elves and the Eldunari, throughout the return trip. Every night, he updated his cousin, Orik, Arya and Nasuada on where they were and what time he expected them to return to Silthrim, the elven city from which he, Saphira and the twelve elves had departed three years ago.

But the end of the second week, familiar trees were spotted. Those trees were the ones that very barely affected by the elves' yearly songs of prosperity, which were actually, in a way, spells to help the trees grow, and for the animals to eat and breed well. Seeing the trees meant they were almost home and so they were a cause for celebration that night. Eragon updated everyone and was delighted to hear that all of them would be present to welcome them home, and were already gathered in Silthrim. That made it much easier for Eragon to celebrate that night. He had missed everyone dearly and he was ecstatic is be seeing them again when he thought he never would again.

The next morning, Saphira flew with a speed he hadn't seen in her for a long time. Just like the rest of them, she was eager to be home and safe. She flew rapidly, bolstered by the Eldunaris' continuing support, making full use of the wind currents. It was almost noon when Eragon spotted some green breaking away from the trees, causing him to smile. The only thing he could think of that was green and capable of flight was Firnen, Arya's dragon. He stood up in the saddle and waved, shouting as Saphira roared. Eragon reached out his mind, hoping to feel Arya's mind. When Arya granted him access, he imagined Saphira landing and Eragon running to Arya to hug her enthusiastically, knowing Arya was watching. He wanted her to watch because he was asking permission if he could do this, half expecting her to not approve. To his delight, Arya laughed and hugged him back, giving her permission. He whooped and smiled when Firnen swooped under Saphira to nuzzle her, giving Eragon and Arya a clear view of each other. Eragon sent Arya everything he had been feeling since he had left, regret at having to leave, missing her and worrying as he wondered if she was alright.

With the dragons speed, it wasn't long before Firnen and Saphira were landing on dry land. Saphira hadn't even touched the ground before Eragon leapt off of her back, using a spell to slow his speed. Once he touched ground, he bolted to Firnen as Arya did the same. Smiling, he swept her into his arms and spun around a few times as he hugged her close, reveling in her presence, her scent, using emotions to tell her how what he was feeling, since he doubted he would be able to put it into words.

When at last Eragon could bear to let Arya go, he stepped away from her and heard his name being called. He turned and there was Roran and his family, Orik, Nasuada, Murtagh and Thorn. He smiled and then Ismira broke away from her father and ran to Eragon. He grinned widely and bent down and hugged Ismira close when she threw her arms around his neck for a hug.

"Hey, Button." He whispered to her as he kissed her hair before he picked her up and settled her on his hip as he made his way over to Roran. He gave his cousin a one-handed hug and nuzzled Katrina since her hands were full. Eragon smiled and bent down to greet his month old nephew. He couldn't talk with them for long because Nasuada was closest to him. He greeted her respectfully and was quite surprised when she hugged him. He returned her hug and fist bumped Murtagh. He then introduced Murtagh to Ismira. Since Murtagh and Eragon both shared their mother, Selena, who had been the sister of Roran's father, Garrow, Ismira was as much Murtagh's niece as she was Eragon's. Roran, of course, stiffened up a bit when his daughter was introduced to Murtagh but he didn't protest. Eragon really didn't blame him. Murtagh had been the enemy against which Roran and Eragon had fought in the last few months of the revolution. Even though Eragon knew that Murtagh had some good in him, Roran didn't know that and he didn't want his daughter to be near the man whom he still considered to be his enemy.

After Nasuada and Murtagh, and a quick bow and respectful greeting to Thorn, Eragon knelt down to hug Orik, struggling to keep his Button balanced on his hip. Orik didn't leave Ismira out of the conversation and greeted her as he would if she were an adult, with a bow and a kiss to her hand. This, of course, sent Ismira into a giggling fit, which had both Orik and Eragon grinning.

With the greetings exchanged, everyone made their way to Silthrim. Well, everyone except the dragons. Saphira, Firnen and Thorn flew off on their own to hunt and get to know each other.

It was a full week of celebration for everyone, and of mourning for the elves. They had lost nine brethren and each life was a devastating lost, given the elves slow reproduction rate. For them, children were a symbol of the ultimate everlasting love and so very few elf children were born in a century.

The hours were filled with singing, dancing and storytelling. Eragon's favorite pastime was dancing with Ismira and Arya. He'd just finish one dance with Ismira and he'd immediately jump into another dance with Arya, whenever he could find her. When he couldn't, he'd sit out and sing. When Eragon wasn't dancing, he was holding Ismira, who frequently fell asleep in his arms. This always go a tender smile out of her uncle, knowing the child was placing her life and trust in his hands. When Katrina insisted on putting her in her bed for the night, she had to practically grab her daughter out of Eragon's arms.

It was with great reluctance that Nasuada, Orik and Murtagh went back to their respective cities, while the rest of the group went to Ellesmera, the elven nation's capital. Eragon and his family rode on Saphira, while Arya and the elves rode on Firnen. Because of the possible dangers form Saphira's spinal horns, Eragon held the children. He had one arm supporting the baby and the other held Ismira close to him to keep her from swinging forward onto the spike in front of her. Roran and Katrina were always checking in on their children, being the worried but loving parents they were.

Once they got to Ellesmera, Firnen, Arya, the dragon eggs and the elves stayed behind. Eragon gave specific instructions to Arya about the new egg distribution system and asked her to get those eggs circulating around the country immediately. The next day, Saphira, Eragon, Roran, Katrina and the children began the journey back to Carvahall.


	2. Chapter 1

The sun filtered down the canopy, lighting the forest below a brilliant green as it reached Alanna's window and hit her in the face. Waking herself from her waking dreams, Alanna sat up and stretched before she threw off the covers and walked to her wash basin. After dowsing herself lightly in the brisk water, she walked to her closet and chose her outfit for today. Alanna's shirt was a rich amethyst purple, her pants made out of animal hide. Their guardian was convinced that animal hide pants made the ultimate accompaniment to a colorful shirt. Alanna wanted to wear the pants her mother had sewn for her, but her guardian wouldn't hear of it. He always pulled rank when one of his charges spoke of displeasures.

Three years ago, her mother and father had gone off to war, to fight King Galbatorix. Neither of her parents made it back, and so the care of herself and her brother went to their uncle, their father's brother. It was a terrible mistake. Alanna had never liked her uncle and now she despised him. He wasn't a nice person, that much Alanna knew. But, hopefully, today her lot in life would change. No more eating last because she was female, no more playing restrictions. And most of all, no more Uncle Gerard.

Dressed and now excited, Alanna skipped to breakfast and stood beside her twin brother, Dusan. Together, perfectly synched, they bowed respective to their genders and watched as their uncle stuffed his face. His scraps went next to Dusan. In the early days, her brother had tried to reason with their uncle to let her eat first, but his only reward was a switch to his backside. Now, Dusan did his best to leave her as much as he could. Alanna knew her brother would have gladly given her all of his food and went hungry himself, knowing he could go out into the forest and hand pick his food throughout the day, but their uncle needed to be sure that Dusan was eating enough, because he was the male and so he had to be strongest so he could rule over the female of his life and be a good warrior in battle. Alanna and Dusan both agreed this was completely against their culture but their uncle had to power to do whatever he wanted to them so they did what they could to placate him.

So, in his usual way, he brother ate enough to satisfy their uncle then he slid his plate to Alanna's spot, letting her come up to sit. Politely, Alanna ate until the plate was clean and drank every drop of the water she was given. After she and her brother gave their uncle their plans for today they were allowed to go about their way. Standing before their uncle again, they bowed again and demurely walked out of the dining room. Once the doors were closed behind them, the façade their uncle had cultivated slipped away and the two siblings became children again as they laughed and raced to the center of the city.

Because it was so early in the morning, there were not that many elves out yet, so Alanna and her brother raced into line and bounced on their toes as they followed the line toward the eggs.

The eggs were set up on tables, organized by first color, and then size from smallest to largest. Alanna gasped at the number and color variety of the eggs and she could almost cry. For Alanna, there was little that was more important in life than color, and this was her dream come true, made even more perfect by the fact that the source of the colors were all dragon eggs, the very epitome of beauty.

Alanna was so consumed with the eggs, that her brother had to physically shake her to get her out of her reverie. It was her turn to receive her egg and she faced Queen Arya, curtsying.

"Good morning, Alanna! How do you feel?" Queen Arya asked after writing down her name.

"Nervous, excited, mystified, a little afraid." She answered quickly, practically unable to stand still. She had to keep bouncing on her toes to keep her excitement form getting out of control.

Arya chuckled. "Yes, I can understand that. Alright, then. Let me see your eyes, darling?"

Alanna leaned in toward her Queen and tried to not blink as Arya analyzed her eyes, her fingers gently touching her chin. Then Arya turned back to the parchment and wrote down a character before turning to one of her assistants.

"You see, Alanna, Eragon discovered that there is a correlation between the Rider's eyes and the dragon's color. We're using this to our advantage. Until you either become a Rider or until you hold all of the eggs, you will hold eggs that match your purple eyes. To make sure you don't hold the same egg twice and accidentally skip over an egg, we're keeping a careful record of the egg you hold every week. Each egg will be sized before you take it and before we take it back in one week. You'll only get one week with each egg and you'll have to give it back if it doesn't hatch. But even if none of the eggs hatch, don't worry. Eggs will be produced in the future and you'll be allowed to try again until the day you die. If, in the event, one of the eggs does hatch, I want you to come immediately to me with the hatchling to begin your training, okay?"

"Yes, Arya."

"Good. Do you have any questions?"

Alanna thought very hard and finally shook her head. Then the assistant came back and handed a purple egg to Arya, who measured its size and documented it before she handed the egg to Alanna. Alanna was so nervous that she held the egg like she would an infant. She bowed and stepped out of line to let her brother go. Dusan received a brilliant cyan egg and the two carefully walked back to their uncle's house.

They spent the rest of the day in the same room, talking to each other and their eggs, dreaming about what would happen if they became Riders. When it became dark, they separated and went to their bedrooms to sleep. Alanna stayed up later than usual, though, still finding difficulty in her new predicament. Staring at the egg tucked in beside her, Alanna unknowingly drifted into her waking dreams.


	3. Chapter 2

Week after week came and went. Alanna's first egg didn't hatch, nor her second, third, fourth or fifth eggs, much to her disappointment. As she had to return egg after egg, her confidence and hope chipped away until she had given up on the egg hatching for her. Now, she saw the egg as a mockery of her hopes and dreams. She wanted to be a Rider, who didn't? But, for her, being a Rider would have added benefits. In elvish society, children only left the household of their parents when they had reached adulthood, which was still several years away for Alanna and her brother. So Alanna saw the eggs as a sentence to more years with Uncle Gerard. And her disposition didn't get any better. Her brother had been chosen with his twelfth egg and had left the following morning, a suitcase packed. While Alanna appreciated the increase in her meal rations, she still felt terrible. Her brother had been chosen, so why not her?

Alanna held a total of fifteen eggs. By now, she had resigned herself to seven more years living with Uncle Gerard and his abuse, not even daring to hope that this last egg would hatch for her. And then, on the sixth and final night, the egg began to squeak and move, thus waking Alanna from her dreams. Confused, Alanna looked around the now silent room until she was sure she was hearing things or it was a mouse from outside. She settled down to continue to sleep when she heard the noise again, but this time louder and accompanied by a few taps. She bolted upright and located the egg on the shelf against the wall farthest from her bed. As she watched, it wriggled vigorously, the squeaks coming faster and louder as the taps increased in volume and intensity. Finally, propelled by the force of its rocking, the egg fell to the floor and shattered. There, on the floor, struggling to right itself, was an amethyst purple dragon hatchling.

Throwing off her covers, Alanna carefully approached the dragon, trying not to startle it. The dragon managed to right itself and now it was trying to figure out how to stand up, using its wings as balance. She watched form a safe distance, sitting cross legged on the floor, watching with absolute fascination as the dragon managed to stand and take a couple of wobbly steps toward her. When it was almost within reach, the dragon stumbled and Alanna didn't even pause to think as she shot forward to support the hatchling. Upon contact with her right hand, an icy blast of mind numbing pain shot up her arm, all of the way to her shoulders and even into her teeth. Screaming, she clenched her arm in her other hand and curled up into a ball. Just as the pain was leaving and her mind returned to working capacity, she heard footsteps running down her hallway. Horror shot through her when she heard Gerard's voice, shouting orders. She looked at her dragon and realized that Gerard would kill the hatchling to keep her under his roof. Scooping up the dragon, and ignoring its squeaks of disapproval, she ran to her window, climbed out and ran for Tialdari Hall, screaming for help. She looked back and saw Gerard poking his head out her window and look at her. He swore violently and climbed out and ran after her. Alanna urged as much speed as she could out of her limbs and practically flew down the road. She didn't heard the _thud, thud, thud_ until there was a deafening roar and Firnen and Saphira dropped out of the sky. Saphira landed above Alanna, Firnen slightly ahead, and both dragons glared at Gerard, snarling ferociously, Saphira looking about ready to kill him. Knowing she was safe, Alanna stopped under Saphira's belly and watched the color flee from Gerard's face as he faced both angry dragons.

"Alanna!"

She turned and saw Eragon and Arya both running toward her, swords brandished and shining in the moonlight. Eragon's sword, Brisingr, was the same blue as Saphira's scales, made especially for him by Rhunon, the swordsmith. Arya held her own emerald green sword, .

Both Riders stepped in front of her protectively. While Eragon yelled at Gerard for the disturbance and corrected the situation, Arya put away her sword and coaxed Alanna and Firnen to Tialdari Hall.

At Tialdari Hall, where Arya and the non-aristocracy elves in Ellesmera lived, Alanna was given a temporary room to stay in for the night. Arya stayed with her for a while, to make sure Alanna and her dragon were both calm enough to sleep and were comfortable. Alanna didn't even notice she was supposed to be calming down. She just kept talking about living at Gerard's and how glad she was to be out, and how much she owed her dragon for getting her out. As if knowing it was being talked about, the dragon managed to jump onto the bed and nestled itself against her side, its head resting on Alanna's chest, looking at her with big, innocent purple eyes.

Alanna stopped short, mid-sentence, as something blocked her window. Suddenly, there was a giant eye looking in.

_Are you harmed, child?_

A musical voice floated into her head in a fashion similar to the one she used with her brother.

"No, Saphira-elda. Thank you so much for rescuing me. I've no doubt my uncle wanted to kill my dragon. He's a cruel elf." She picked up the hatchling to settled it closer to her, feeling rather protective.

_That he is. Thank you for protecting my son._

"Your son?" So her dragon was male…and Saphira's son!

_That is what I said. Your dragon is my son. And you risked the wrath of your uncle to protect him. Thank you._

_"_Oh, uh…you're welcome, Saphira-elda." Alanna bowed to her and let her dragon jump to the windowsill, figuring he was curious about what he was seeing. Saphira righted her head to sniff and then to try to nuzzle him, which was rather difficult because Saphira's snout was too large to fit into the window. A sound that was obviously a purr came from her dragon, while a deeper version rumbled from Saphira.

"Alanna?" Came a male voice form the doorway. She turned to see Eragon standing there.

"Eragon-elda." She greeted him and got out of bed to curtsy to him.

"Saphira tells me your dragon is one of her children."

"It seems so. I think she is happy one of her eggs has hatched."

"Yes, she is. She's looking forward to teaching him everything Glaedr taught her. May I come in?"

"Oh, yes, please." Alanna gestured to her bed and climbed back in, covering her lower half with the blankets. Eragon sat down and faced her.

"Do you understand that now that you're a Rider, you'll need training?"

"Yes. My brother told me what he could before he left."

"Good. Since your dragon can't fly yet, you'll fly to your lessons with Arya and Firnen to the Crags of Tel'naeir . I'll meet you there."

"Yes, Eragon-elda. Arya-elda, will you wake me up? I don't wish to be late."

"Yes, of course I will. Now, it's late. You should sleep, Alanna." Arya suggested in a friendly tone as she finished tucking in Alanna.

"Thank you both for saving my dragon and I." She whispered, feeling her energy drain.

"Of course, Alanna. Good night." She thought Eragon leaned in to pat her head before he and Arya left. Either way, she was asleep before long.


	4. Chapter 3

Alanna woke up the next morning when she heard Arya calling her name and knocking on her door. She forced her heartbeat to speed up and her breathing to deepen as she pulled herself out of her waking dreams.

"Good morning, Arya. I'm awake. I'll be out in a little bit." She called as she stretched and yawned.

"Okay, Alanna. I went back to your uncle's last night to get your stuff. Your clothes are out here. I suggest a purple shirt."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you." Alanna moved her dragon off of her chest, much to his protest, and went to the door. She opened it and her suitcase was indeed there but there was no sign of Arya. Alanna shrugged and grabbed her suitcase and brought it into her room. She went through her suitcase and found one of her many purple shirts and a pair of animal hide pants. Purple was her favorite color. She thought she looked her best when she was wearing a deep purple because of her pale skin, purple eyes and black, waist-length hair.

After she was dressed, she braided her hair and then made it into a bun by twisting the braid around itself until it curled up, then wrapped the rest of the braid around it. She fastened it in place with a leather band that was enhanced by a spell of elasticity, and then tied a thick purple ribbon over the band. She did this because she didn't want her hair to get in the way of training, whatever it may be.

After washing her face and hands, Alanna encouraged her dragon to follow her down the hall and to the dining room, where she ate with Arya. Her dragon jumped into the seat beside her and tried to get onto the table, but Alanna didn't let him. She reached out to her dragon's mind and mentally reprimanded him with an impression of displeasure, and then she accompanied the feeling with the word 'no'. She knew dragons didn't naturally have control over a language involving words and preferred to use images and impressions, so she figured it was best to begin getting him used to words immediately. She didn't like the first word he knew was one of displeasure, but he'll be learning a lot more words in the coming months so this was just simply part of his training.

After breakfast, Arya, Alanna and her dragon went outside to Firnen. While Arya climbed up, Alana bent down to scoop up her dragon. Firnen lowered his head to look at the hatchling, whom was supremely interested in Firnen. She let them smell each other before Firnen turned away. Jumping as high as she could, Alana landed on Firnen's elbow. She jumped again to land on his shoulder, and then again to land on his back, between two of his spikes. She sat down and held tight to her dragon, using her mind to tell him to not struggle, while she clamped her legs around Firnen when the huge dragon suddenly moved.

_Try to hold on, Alana. _Firnen suggested and Alana grabbed the spike in front of her with one hand as Firnen leaned back on his haunches and launched himself into the air. She squealed and clung tighter to the spike and to her dragon, determined to not let him fall.

Once Firnen had risen above the canopy and leveled out, Alana let her grip on her dragon relax. She didn't remove her arm, she kept her arm around him but with just enough tension to keep him in place. Now sure she wouldn't fall, Alana let herself look around at the forest passing below them.

_Alanna! _ A very familiar voice shouted in her head in greeting. Alana looked up to see Saphira, Eragon and Dusan, whom was waving at her. She smiled and waved back. _Dusan! _

_You're a Rider, too? Awesome! Is yours male or female? I can see its color, absolutely beautiful._

_Thanks. Mine's male. What gender is yours? And where is it?_

Dusan laughed and pointed to his dragon, whom was flying beside and behind Saphira, struggling to not fall behind. The dragon was a cyan color similar to Dusan's eyes, but it was also a sort of mix between cyan and aquamarine.

_She's a female. Isn't she beautiful?_

_She really is! And she's so big! _

_Well, she is fourteen weeks old. She isn't big enough for me to ride her yet, but at least she can fly now. _

_Can you tell me anything about what to expect during training?_

_Well, since Eragon's the only one who's received actual Rider training, he's our mentor. Every day, Saphira, Firnen and my dragon, Jewel, fly off for the dragon equivalent of Rider training, while the three Riders stay at the Crags. Eragon has all of us go through the Rimgar, then we go out into the forest to listen to nature for an hour. When we come back, He and Arya spar, then he mostly has us read scrolls about the history of Alagaesia and the Rider order. But, now that you're a Rider, too, it'll probably be the two of us against each other._

_Spar with what? If we use swords, if we had any, we'd cut each other to pieces._

_Eragon and Arya spar with swords, but they use a spell to block the edges so instead of deadly wounds, the swords just inflict bruises. I don't know what he'll do with us, though. He's just had me going through the Rimgar while he and Arya spar._

_Okay. What about the dragons? What do they do all day?_

_I think they pretty much do the dragon version of the Rimgar. My dragon isn't old enough to understand a whole lot of words yet, so Saphira is building up her physical strength and endurance. _

_How do you know?_

_I'm supposed to keep my mind connected with Jewel's, like ours are now, so that way I know what Jewel is doing, and I learn what I'm supposed to learn at the same time._

_Don't you get a headache?_

_Occasionally, yeah, but I'm glad to put up with it if it means I get more acquainted with Jewel's physical limits and such. That kind of knowledge just might save us in a battle. _

_You implied that Jewel already knows some words. How did you do that?_

_I just sent her images or feelings and connected them to a word. I started with words that are used in every day conversation so we could talk as quickly as possible. Saphira and Firnen both teach her words during the day, words I haven't taught her yet. She isn't progressing at a phenomenal rate, but she is progressing pretty well by elven standards so I expect we'll be talking like you and I so rather soon. _

_And when did Jewel learn how to fly?_

_I think she was about a month old when she started trying to figure it out. Before that, Saphira had her work out her wings by flapping without actually leaving the ground. Now, they fly when they aren't doing the dragon Rimgar._

_That must be a lot of flying for Jewel. Her wings must ache by the end of every day._

_Her whole body does, not as much as before. She's getting used to so much activity, which is a good thing. She can't fly up to the wind currents on her own yet so she has to build up endurance while she can. What did Jewel do all day before she learned to fly?_

_Saphira coaxed her through the Rimgar, but otherwise she stayed with me. Without knowledge of language, she really couldn't do much else. So I suggest you teach your dragon as many words as you can right away. The more words he learns, the sooner he can begin the real training. And I suggest you begin with the concept of names first. Once he understands everything has a name and he doesn't, he'll want a name for himself. _

_Okay. Did Jewel choose her name, or did you choose it for her?_

_She chose it from a list of female names I gave her. She was about a month and a half at the time. _

Dusan kept answering Alanna's questions, throughout the flight to the Crags of Tel'nair, where Oromis and his dragon Glaedr once taught Eragon and Saphira. It made the normally lengthy flight feel short. It also helped that Alanna had missed her brother desperately. Being twins, they hadn't been separated until Dusan had become a Rider and had to go his own way. Now, they were together again and Alanna was elated.

At the Crags, Saphira and Firnen landed outside of a hut. The Riders got off. Alanna watched as Eragon, Arya and Dusan all hugged their dragons before the dragons flew off. Alanna set her dragon down and stroked his head.

"Okay, then." Eragon turned to his students. "First, we'll all do the Rimgar. Alanna, come on beside me so you can see better." He backed up away from the hut a bit as Arya and Dusan formed a line beside him. Alanna went on his other side and did her best to copy him. It was hard work, but since the Rimgar was meant to tone the body and exercise the muscles, it was supposed to be hard work.

After an hour of the Rimgar, which felt like an eternity to Alanna, Dusan and Arya were sent into the forest to listen. Eragon turned to her and knelt down to Alanna's height.

"Alanna-finiarel, first, congratulations on becoming a Rider. I hope you realize that it's a title that most don't win and the responsibility and honor involved in it."

"I have a pretty good idea, Eragon-elda."

"Good. Now, because you're still so new to being a Rider, you're training will differ from your brother's until your dragon hits certain milestones in his development. For now, the most important thing for him is to learn about language. So, during this hour, I want you to start teaching him about language and words. I have some scrolls you can read off of, and then connect those words to an impression or image respective to the word."

"I'd appreciate that, thank you, Eragon-finiarel."

"You're welcome. And please, just Eragon will suffice." Alanna started to argu, wanting to point out that the _finairel _was a term of great honor and praise for a male, that he had earned it and it was only just that he be recognized with it. "I know what you're going to say. You think much like your brother does. I understand the term and what it means. However, since we're going to be working together until the end of our days, I consider us equals and so I feel like words of honor and praise shouldn't be used here. Arya agrees with me and has already told me she wishes you, your brother and myself don't call her Queen or any other title. Saphira, however, loves the titles so she'll expect you to use them when you address her."

"Yes, Eragon. I'll try to restrain myself. Oh, among those scrolls you mentioned, do you have any of exclusive male names? Dusan told me I should also teach my dragon about names and get him acquainted with name so he can have a wide range to choose from when he decides he wants a name as well." She started to curtsy but figured Eragon wouldn't like that either.

Eragon chuckled as he smiled. "I do have such a list. I'm surprised by how much Dusan has told you already."

Alanna blushed and looked at her feet sheepishly. "I kept throwing questions at him."

"Ah! That'd do it. I was the same way when I was. I kept pestering everyone with questions when I had them."

"You say that like you don't anymore."

"For the most part, my curiosity has been satisfied. My betters taught me a lot. But its also because I don't have a mentor anymore. Before I was a Rider, I looked to my uncle, my cousin and everyone in Carvahall for answers. When Saphira and I were tracking the Ra'zac, I looked to Brom. After Brom died and I met Oromis, I looked to him. But now that Oromis is dead, as well, I have only Saphira and Arya to turn to. Well, and a few others, but for the most part I have to rely on the scrolls Oromis left."

"Oh. That makes sense. What are the Ra'zac?" She asked, having never heard of the creatures before. Eragon shuddered violently, a look of repulsion flying across his face.

"The Ra'zac were a vile race." Eragon explained and then a picture of what she assumed to be a Ra'zac appeared in her mind. "They had bird-like head, body and beak with massive eyes, but their legs were shaped kind of like a horse's rear legs. Instead of wings, they had arms like ours that were so thin that they looked like twigs. They were fast, deceptively strong and had developed a breathe odor that would incapacitate a human. But they didn't eat worms. They ate humans, and they preferred to hunt at night because of the camouflage, when we're most vulnerable."

" 'We're'? Aren't you an elf?"

Eragon chuckled again. "That's difficult to answer. I was born a human, and in some ways I still am, but at the Agaheti Blodhren, the dragons of old and Glaedr and Saphira teamed up to give me the physical attributes of an elf. My ears grew pointed, I obtained the endurance and physical strength of an elf and even my face changed. I could detect flaws in materials when I couldn't before, and I could even sense more animals and humans than I could as a human, which meant I had a greater mental capacity. But, in some ways, I'm still human. I struggle hide my emotions, and most of the time I don't want to, I can still grow facial hair which means I have to shave every morning, and I don't sleep anymore. I slip into waking dreams just as elves do. So, I'm a human-elf hybrid, a half breed. Not truly one, but not truly the other."

Alanna really had no idea what to say to all of that, except simply to nod.

"Now, the Ra'zac is a term just for that stage of their life. The Ra'zac are basically just children, though the ones I encountered were more adult in appearance than children. When the Ra'zac are twenty years old, they shed their skin, like a snake would, and break away as mix of horse and dragon. Now adults, they are called Lethrblaka. They have the body of a horse, but the wings and paws of a dragon, and they're about the size of an eight month old dragon." Then another image appeared in her mind that matched the description Eragon had given her. He compared her size to the Lethrblaka's and she shuddered at the height difference.

"What makes them so dangerous is not only their sheer strength and size, but they're also evil to the bone, which is why they flourished as Galbatorix's henchmen. He sent two Ra'zac and their parents to the Spine to seek out Saphira's egg, which led them into Carvahall. They wouldn't have found out that I had Saphira's egg unless the fool Sloan hadn't told them that I had brought a strange stone into his butchery for a trade. His lack of restraint led directly to the Ra'zac searching out my uncle's farm and killing him to find out where I was. At the time, Saphira had spirited me away into the Spine to keep them away from me. I had to ride her without a saddle and her scales rubbed my legs raw until the skin was completely gone and nothing more than a bloody mass. The next morning, I convinced her to return to the farm to warn my uncle. I got there too late to save him, but he was still alive so Saphira and I dragged him into Carvahall, to the healer Gertrude. I didn't quite make it because I passed out from blood loss, but I woke up in the blacksmith's house a few days later. Once my legs had scabbed over, Brom and I fled Carvahall to seek out the Ra'zac and destroy them."

"Sloan? The man you sent here under a spell?"

"Yes, that's him. The man hates my cousin and I with a passion. Well, he and I haven't gotten along before, but back then it was just a mutual dislike. He grew to hate my family after, first, my cousin announced his betrothal to Sloan's daughter in front of the whole village without Sloan's blessing, nor even his knowledge that Roran wanted to pursue Katrina. He came to hate me when I wouldn't kill him after I rescued him from the Ra'zac's den in Helgrind. He felt really guilty for ratting Roran and Katrina out to the Ra'zac when they came back to apprehend Roran. But I didn't the responsibility of deciding if he should live or die, so I used his true name to make him swear in the ancient language that he would come to Ellesmera and stay here, never to see or talk to Katrina again. If he repented, then he'd get his eyes back. But, if he didn't…well…"

"Get his eyes back?"

"Yes, the Ra'zac had pecked them out of his head before I found him."

"Gross!"

"Yes, and cruel, but that's the nature of the Ra'zac. Evil to the core. Now, let's focus on you teaching your dragon about words, hmm? I'll get those scrolls for you. Come on inside. Your dragon, too." Eragon stood and Alanna followed him inside.

The hut was small, circular, with every surface of the walls covered in spaces for scrolls. In the center of the room were three desks and chairs, each equipped with a fresh roll of parchment, a sharpened quill and an inkwell. Alanna sat down at one of the desks and her dragon hopped up onto it. She smiled and stroked it hesitantly at first, then more assuredly when she heard the dragon start to purr.

"I've never seen a dragon being so affectionate." Eragon observed, turning from the wall with some scrolls in hand. He approached and gave her the scrolls.

"Aren't all dragons like this?"

"Saphira wasn't. Well, probably because I had to spend most of the day making sure my uncle and Roran didn't learn about her. I was so sure they'd kill her and I couldn't bear the thought of that, so I hid her in the forest. After my chores were done, I went to her and stayed there until dark. Even then, she ask for strokes. The most she did was lay down against my leg. As she got older, I was the one cuddling against her belly, but that was the extent of it. It must be a personality thing."

"That makes sense." Alanna was still focused on figuring out what her dragon liked so she didn't reply as heartedly as she ought to have.

"Here are the scrolls. I suggest starting right away. That dragon has two languages to learn fluently. You'd best get going." Eragon subtly ordered as he set the scrolls near Alanna's hand and he walked outside. Alanna picked up one scroll, scanned the contents and connected her mind with her dragon's. The word was 'Horse', so she imagined a picture of the horse and below the animal flashed the word 'Horse'. She didn't know if the dragon was learning, so she moved on to the next word, another animal, and did the same thing. Then, she went back to the horse, and then the second animal before she moved on to the third and repeated the cycle.

After five words, she put away the scroll and looked the dragon in the eye. Then she tapped his chest and said _You, _then she pointed to herself and said _Alanna._ She repeated it again a few more times until the dragon squeaked as an acknowledgement. Smiling, she stroked the dragon as praise, then picked up one of the scrolls. Leaving it rolled up, she held it up and said _scroll. _After she had repeated it a few times, the dragon squeaked again.

After an hour, Alanna had managed to get the dragon familiar with twenty animals, the words _you, scroll, quill, Alanna _ and _chair _for a total of twenty-five words. It was good progress for the first hour and Alanna was actually looking forward to working with the dragon some more.

Eragon, Arya and Dusan came back into the hut as Alanna was rolling up the scroll she held. She smiled as Dusan passed her and they greeted each other as they usually did with a brief clasping of hands.

"Okay, then. Now that there are four of us, Dusan, Alanna, there is no reason why you two can't learn to spar. On your feet." Eragon resumed his mentor voice. Alanna stood and followed her brother, queen and mentor outside. Arya drew her sword and prepared it while Eragon went into the forest and found a couple of thick sticks of about the same length. He came back and tossed one stick to each sibling.

"Now, spar. Your opponents of the future won't go easy on you, so don't coddle each other just because you're siblings. I know you love each other, and that's a good thing, but when you have a weapon in your hand, you have to see the one you're supposed to fight as your enemy. Understand?"

"Yes, Eragon." Dusan whispered as Alanna nodded. She didn't like the idea of having to harm her brother, but she understood the necessity. Looking into Dusan's eyes, she could tell that he felt the same.

Stepping back a few paces, Dusan and Alanna held up their sticks but they didn't move.

After a period of silence, in which both pairs were still, a flock of birds flew overhead. Alanna looked up at them. In that instant, Dusan leapt forward, swinging his stick like it was a club. Alanna barely had enough time to bring up her own to block his attack. The sticks collided with a resounding _smack, _and the force of the impact threatened to make her arm go numb. But she couldn't worry about that right now. Dusan had already retreated and was preparing another blow, but he left his stomach wide open. Moving quickly even by an elf's standards, Alanna jumped forward to jab him in the belly, then she danced away. Dusan huffed and his swing faltered before he kept up the attack. It was quickly apparent that he was trying to keep his sister on the defensive, and the speed with which he delivered blow after blow mostly resulted in him getting in several hits and some others blocked. Also, he never gave her enough time to analyze his body for openings between attacks, let alone enough time to take advantage of that by jumping forward to hit him again. Honestly, Alanna wasn't surprised. The few times their tempers had gotten away from each other enough for them to tangle in the dirt with fists and teeth, he would always become hyper charged if she got in a hit.

Alanna was so preoccupied with warding off her brother that she didn't hear Eragon shouting at her brother, nor did she see Eragon sheath his sword and trot over to Dusan.

"Dusan!" Eragon shouted as he came up behind Dusan and put a hand on his shoulder. Her brother stopped dead, the anger in his eyes fading as darkness did after a light was turned on. He lowered his stick and seemed to gather his wits as he looked from Eragon to Alanna. He dropped his stick with a look of horror and with a cry he enveloped Alanna in his arms, exclaiming apologies and begging for forgiveness. Alanna patted his back and reassured him of no ill will and that she forgave him. Meanwhile, Eragon looked at Arya.

Once Alanna was sure Dusan was stable enough for her to let him go, she did. He had calmed down quite a bit but she could see that the guilt he felt hadn't abated but he turned to Eragon and apologized for his actions. Eragon patted his shoulder, a kind smile on his face.

"Change in plans. Dusan, you'll be sparring with me. Alanna, you're with Arya."

"Yes, sir." Alanna replied and went over to Arya. Dusan just nodded. Eragon crouched down in front of her brother and whispered to him. Alanna couldn't make out what it was he said, and she didn't think she was supposed to know.

When Eragon had finished talking to Dusan, Eragon stood up and the two males backed up to the center of the clearing surrounding the hut. Arya and Alanna did the same. The two pairs faced off and the battles commenced.

Alanna held no illusions that she had a chance against Arya. Her queen had more than half a century of battle experience more than Alanna, was faster, stronger and was surer of her body and her abilities. Alanna wasn't even sure if she could dodge one of Arya's attacks. Regardless, the point of this wasn't to come away unscathed; It was to become a better swordsman. So, Alanna fought back. She didn't land a single blow on Arya, but she tried, even when she received blow after blow.

It was a welcome relief when Eragon called a halt to the sparring. Exhausted and hurting, Alanna dropped her stick and tried to catch her breath. Dusan ran over to his sister and hugged her.

"I'm okay, Dusan. It's just a few bruises. Nothing I haven't had before."

"I still don't like that you're hurting." Dusan whimpered quietly as he hugged her close. Alanna smiled and hugged him back.

"I know. But its alright. The pain is good. Come on. The day isn't over yet." Alanna reluctantly broke away and kissed his forehead as she stood up. Dusan did the same and the two clasped hands as they walked toward Eragon, ready for the next stage of their training.

"Okay, then. Come inside." Eragon said as he led the way. Arya, Dusan and Alanna ducked inside and took a seat. Eragon had already selected a few scrolls and had set up three piles. He grabbed one scroll from each and set a scroll in front of each student. "Alanna, how well can you read and write in the ancient language?"

"Fluently."

"Good. Then I want you to read this." He replied as he set the scroll down in front of her. She opened it, as Arya and Dusan already had, and began reading. It was slow going. She hadn't read in three years, the activity having been forbidden by Gerard, so she had to struggle a bit, but she still made good progress. She finished two of the three scrolls by the time Eragon said to stop.

Eragon assigned Arya and Dusan to reading some more scrolls, but he kneeled down beside her. He dipped her quill in the ink and wrote out a character that she didn't recognize. Eragon explained that she would be learning how to read, write and speak in his language, and that this was the first letter of their alphabet.

For the rest of the day, Eragon taught her about the first three letters, had given her a few examples that began with one of those three letters, and explained the grammatical structure of the language. It was so much to take in that Alanna's head was really pounding by the time Eragon said they could go home, when the sun was touching the horizon and the dragons came back.

Everyone mounted up, the girls on Firnen and the boys on Saphira, Jewel remaining unburdened and Alanna's dragon nestled in her lap. Before departure, Eragon presented Alanna with a knapsack with scrolls. "The names of male dragons, all of them used at least once, as well as words you should teach your dragon. You don't have to give them back right away." He explained and Alanna thanked him as she shouldered the pack. Then the dragons took off and flew back to Ellesmera. During the flight, Alanna reviewed the words she had introduced to her dragon, unwilling to risk the safety of the scrolls.

_Alanna, I think it only fair to warn you. Now that you're a Rider, you'll be living in a treehouse designed especially for and used exclusively by Riders. There's even a giant bowl on each level filled with pillows for a dragon. _Dusan explained through our mental link.

_Really? But what about my stuff?_

_No doubt Arya arranged for your stuff to be taken from Gerard's and put into your new house. She did the same with me._

_And what about food?_

_A plate heaping with food is delivered every morning, along with a cage of rats for your dragon. Live, of course. He has to learn how to hunt and he can't do that if they're killed before he can get to them._

_Yeah, that's true. Hmm. I might be able to use those rats to help him._

_That's brilliant! _

For the rest of the flight, Dusan kept giving me tips about what changes to my life that I should expect.

Just as Dusan had predicted, Firnen landed outside a house sung out of a very old tree. Arya explained that this was my new home and that all of my stuff was inside. I had only to put it away.

Suddenly feeling the exhaustion creep upon my muscles, I thanked her and jumped from Firnen's back to his shoulder, to his elbow and down to the ground. I turned around and opened my arms to my dragon, whom glided down into my arms. Smiling, I nuzzled him a bit before I set him down. Waving at Arya, I turned and climbed up the very long and very steep staircase.

By the time I got up to the top, my dragon and I were both panting heavily. My legs were shaking and my poor hatchling collapsed as soon as he reached the top step. I chuckled and opened the door and gasped. I was staring at a mini kitchen with a sink and a small countertop. To the left, there was a massive bowl filled with pillows in the center of the room with a bench sung out of the wall nearest the door. The furthest wall was nonexistent, opening to the elements, and a ledge extended past the opening. The wall opposite the one with the bench was plain.

To my left, there was a small staircase that led to the washroom, and beyond that was the bedroom. Further up the stair case, spiraling around where I figured the heart of the tree used to be, I found a study with plenty of wall space, and all of it was already prepared for holding scrolls. There was a desk and chair along the wall and one of the shelves was lined with several quills, a quill sharpener, and several inkbottles. This room also held a dragon bed lined with pillows, a nonexistent wall and a balcony similar to the one on the first level.

Going back down to the first floor, I found my dragon already curled up in the bowl. On the counter, I found a cage full of live rats for my dragon and a bowl of fruit, and a plate of salad for me.

Whistling, I roused my dragon. He just looked at me disdainfully and then ignored me. I whistled again and grabbed a rat by its tail. The squeals it made grabbed my dragons attention.

Waving the rat, I watched as my dragon came closer. By pointing first to him, and then covering my eyes, and then pointing to him again, I tried to tell him to do what I was doing, to close his eye. He just cocked his head, confused. I connected our minds and repeated it, connecting my actions with the command _Copy, _hoping he'd understand. Rolling his eyes, he hid his eyes beneath one of my paws.

_Good! _I exclaimed and tossed the rat at him. The rat landed on the floor and skittered off, but my dragon took off after it like the predator he was. Within a few seconds, my hatchling had the rat in his belly.

_Good. _I repeated and picked up another rat, careful not to get bitten. I picked one of the animals he had learned about today and spoke the name. The dragon cocked his head again, so I repeated it, holding the image with the flashing name in our minds.

After a few times, I gave him the rat and fished out another one. When my dragon was ready for the rat, I gave him the next animal and I spoke the name a few times before I gave him the rat.

By speaking the word I wanted him to learn out loud, I hoped he would figure out that the word and the spoken sound were the same. I figured this was the first step to learning how to talk. Even though I knew dragons couldn't speak like I could, with vocal cords, he still had to know how to pronounce the words in his mind.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to do this cycle too many times before my dragon's belly was full. Deciding dinner was a good idea for myself as well, I grabbed my bowl and sat down on the bench to eat. Purring, my dragon climbed up and curled up next to me. I chuckled and stroked his neck with one hand, the bowl on the bench and fork in my other hand.

After I finished my bowl, I carefully got up, trying not to disturb my now sleeping dragon. Placing the bowl on the counter, I grabbed the bowl of fruit and went back to the bench. I got as close to my dragon as I dared without waking him up, and I kept eating the fruit.

When my belly was full and my eyelids were drooping, I went into the washroom and washed.

Now clean and ready for bed, I crawled into my bed and under the covers. Before I fell asleep, though, my dragon jumped up and curled up against my belly. Smiling, I closed my eyes and quickly fell into my waking dreams.


	5. Chapter 4

And that is essentially how every day would go for the next few weeks. Alana was woken up by Arya precisely at dawn and she was given time to wash, eat and feed a few rats to her dragon. Since the bowl needed refilling, she placed the bowl outside her door and jumped from the balcony onto Firnen's back with her dragon in her arms.

Once at the Crags, Eragon had the three apprentices through the Rimgar, and then review the words Alanna's dragon already knew while Arya and Dusan listened to the forest. When they came back, Arya and Alanna would spar for a while. After sparring, she, Arya and Dusan would all read some scrolls, then Eragon would teach Alanna the human and dwarf alphabet while Arya and Dusan were given different scrolls to read. That continued for the rest of the day until dusk. When the dragons came back, Eragon would check on the progress she was making with her dragon.

By the time he was a week old, Alanna's dragon had already understood the purpose of what Alanna was teaching him and what she wanted him to do. He could now repeat the words she taught him after a few tries, understanding a new word quickly.

When the dragons came back, Alanna climbed onto Firnen with Arya. Jewel was now big enough for Dusan to ride her, so he did. And he seemed to really enjoy riding his dragon. Alanna envied him and wished for the day when her dragon was strong enough to support her.

By the time her dragon was three weeks old, he was too big for Alanna to hold while on Firnen's back, but he was still too young to fly, so he sat in one of Firnen's paws.

Once at home, Alanna taught the dragon some new words, tossing him a rat as part of his treat when he recited the word correctly. After the dragon was too full for rats, she resorted to verbal positive reinforcement. Thankfully, he seemed eager to learn so the few times she tested him, to see if he noticed she was praising him, he didn't notice that she had 'accidentally' skipped a round of praise.

Before Alanna knew it, a month had come and gone and every night she would watch her dragon leap out of the balcony from her study, try to fly, only to land somewhere and race back upstairs to try again. Now that he was old enough, Saphira had begun his training. With their minds connected, Alanna was aware of Saphira flying him to a nearby lake and, while underwater, she'd show him how to flap his wings. He was a natural swimmer, and to Alanna's eyes it looked like the flapping motion that he was swimming with would also help him to fly, but she wasn't entirely sure. She trusted her dragon's safety and education to Saphira so she didn't try to analyze her reasoning any deeper than that. Saphira was teaching Alanna's dragon something he needed to learn, and that was all Alanna cared about.

As for her own studies, she made great progress with the human language. Within two weeks she was reading all twenty-three letters fluently and starting on small words. Ironically, Eragon had her read from the same scrolls that she had recited to her dragon. For the first time, she understood how he felt, for the most part. Of course, she had the advantage of already knowing the animal and the letters, just not the word.

While she excelled at reading, writing was another matter entirely. She struggled to memorize how to write each letter, and her grammatical structure tended to morph into the structure of the ancient language, her native tongue. It was very difficult for Alanna to keep these two separate, so she stayed up studying every night, trying to get better.

When her dragon was five weeks old, he knew enough words so he and Alanna could communicate. Hearing his musical voice speak his first full sentence was quite a thrill, and his voice was so addictive that she would often throw him a word to have him repeat it. She had upgraded his verbal training by also having him say a sentence about the word.

At five weeks, her dragon had grown immensely, in every sense of the word. Where he had been no bigger than a loaf of bread the night he had hatched, now he stood up to Alanna's waist, and growing every other day. As a result of his growth, his appetite skyrocketed to the point where he could eat half of the tank of rats for his breakfast, and then the rest of the tank for dinner. Well, more like half of a full tank for dinner and the rest for breakfast, since the tank was refilled while he and Alanna were training.

During his fifth week of life, her dragon also decided that he wanted a name, too. Just as she had planned on the first day of training, Alanna took out the scrolls that listed male dragon names and recited them to him. He showed no interest in any of them. They went through the scrolls another time, but he still didn't pick one. Alanna asked him what sort of name he would want, and tried to create a name for him with the descriptions he gave; something strong, noble and unique. It was difficult work. Many of the names Alanna knew had been on those scrolls. So, she started rearranging and combining them in new ways. She wrote them down throughout the day and at night she would show them to him for his approval.

Finally, one day, he decided that he wanted the name Draken. So, he became Draken. It was difficult for Alanna to stop thinking of his as 'her dragon' and to start thinking of him as Draken, but she knew she'd get it eventually. It also helped that Draken would know when she was thinking of him as 'her dragon' and would correct her. He seemed to take great pride in his name.

Almost immediately following obtaining his name, Draken also figured out how to fly one night while he was practicing. When Alanna watched him fly up to the balcony he had dropped from, she whooped and hugged him, praising him immensely for his achievement. It soon became his habit to practice his flying every night even when he hurt from flying so much during the day.

Once Draken had learned to fly, he could finally join his mother, father and Jewel in their daily excursions. While Draken was excited about that, Alanna wasn't as enthusiastic. She had grown used to having Draken by her side for every moment of every day and didn't want him to leave, but she knew it was necessary for their training.

With Draken off for dragon training, Alanna joined her brother and queen in their daily listening to nature. At first, she had no idea about what was expected of her, but after getting a tip in the right direction from Eragon, she realized that she had to become one with the forest until she could monitor every species without focusing on one in particular.

Alanna also progressed with the Rimgar, despite the constant growing of her limbs. She was still a child, after all, and so had some growing left to do. But, she didn't let that stop her. She was determined to do well at training, to be the best Rider she could be.

After five weeks of sparring with Arya, Alanna was finally making some headway in her swordfighting. She still received blows from her opponent, but she also started dodging and landing more, which meant she was getting faster. She also developed some good footwork, able to focus on fighting Arya, but also simultaneously watching where she was putting her feet in the position and with the pressure that would be best to keep her footing.

Now that Alanna was catching up with her brother in training, Eragon didn't focus on her anymore. He'd give her a few tips here and there, but there was little more one-on-one time. This suited Alanna just fine because she understood. She didn't _need _it anymore and it would be selfish to expect him to continue to focus on her.

Not long after Draken had turned six weeks, Eragon decided it was time he let Alanna and Dusan practice magic. He started them off small, lifting a pebble and holding it for as long as they could, then letting it drop, only to make it lift for two more times. Once it was apparent they had more power than that, he moved them into moving a bubble of water and tossing it back and forth like a game. While they enjoyed that particular exercise, Eragon also had them moving rocks and commanding fire and other similar exercises. For the most part, Eragon had them doing this toward the end of the day, when their lack of energy wouldn't affect the other areas of their studies.

Now that Jewel was old enough to support Dusan, some days Dusan would accompany the dragons on their lessons. Connected to Draken, Alanna followed her brother wherever they went. Usually this involved the two younger dragons sparring each other, which seemed to be a daily exercise, while Saphira and Firnen sparred each other.

For Alanna, life was looking up. Everything was going right.


	6. Chapter 5

When Draken turned two months, Alanna was finally allowed to ride on his back. Their first flight together was absolutely mind-blowing. Since it was early in the morning and with Eragon having given his permission for them to go fly for the day, Draken had a lot of energy, and a lot of moves to show off. He did everything he could think of, which of course resulted in Alanna laughing herself silly from the sheer joy of flying. It was also a lot of fun when Draken went up as high as he could and then dove straight down. The Crags were nothing more than cliffs that towered hundreds of feet above the ocean, which meant dragons had a lot of room to take off and dive from.

Draken kept close to the Crags, wanting to be close to land when he should tire, and he eventually did. Landing on the cliff top, Draken walked over to the hut and lay down. Alanna dismounted, untying her legs from the saddle that Eragon had helped her make over the last few weeks since Draken had learned to fly. With her feet on solid ground, she swayed a bit, still used to the air, but she sat down beside Draken without injury and scratched him behind his jaw, one of the many spots that made him writhe when scratched. Draken closed his eyes and smiled, leaning into her hand, as he hummed with contentment.

After Draken fell asleep, Alanna sat watching her brother go through his day. Connected to his mind, she was able to make her time productive by learning what he was learning, even if she didn't understand some of it.

When the sun started to go down, Alanna gently woke Draken and managed to wake him enough for him to understand that he had to clear the area so Saphira, Firnen and Jewel could land. In his way of waking up quickly, Draken simply walked over to the edge of the cliff and let himself fall. Alanna watched as Draken fell into the water. Connected to his mind, she felt the shock of the freezing water as it hit his body with a tremendous amount of force. With the combination of the impact and the cold, Draken was instantly awakened and he rose out of the water. Both Alanna and Draken knew it was a temporary measure that would last until they got home, that Draken would be awake enough to fly that distance. But the second they got home, he'd go straight to his bowl and pass out.

Just as expected, Draken did just that. Although, he did manage to stay awake enough to eat his dinner, eating more rats than normal this time. But, right after dinner, he fell asleep. Alanna smiled and went up to her study to work on writing in the human/dwarf language, conversing with her brother to help her with the characters she was having most trouble with.

When she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore, Alanna turned out the lights and went to sleep.


	7. Chapter 6

The next morning, Eragon watched as Arya battled with first Alanna and then Dusan, analyzing each of his students critically. Dusan still flew into a rage when he was struck, but Alanna had taken well to battling by swords, or sticks as the case may be. After two months of studying, Alanna was now giving blows more often than she received them, and had even picked up on Arya's particular weaknesses and was utilizing them well. Dusan wasn't able to do this as much because he usually sparred against Eragon, but he was still progressing well. Eragon smiled, seeing how far both of them had come.

After sparring with Arya, both Dusan and Alanna, and their dragons, went with Eragon and Saphira into Ellesmera, forsaking a day in the hut and learning from scrolls for a day of real life learning. Eragon would have preferred to take them out of Du Weldenvarden to see how hard life could be, where they could be useful. But, leaving Du Weldenvarden had dangers, and he didn't want to overstep their training and risk one of the hatchlings losing their lives. So, he had to get them a means of defense. As elves, they were already capable of magic, but they needed another defense they could rely on until they had to rely on magic. They needed to see Rhunon.

Saphira, Jewel and Draken landed outside Rhunon's workshop. Eragon shouted to Rhunon and ad Rhunon rushed out, they went through the traditional greetings, moving to Alanna and Dusan.

Once the greetings were out of the way, Eragon revealed to his students why they were there, much to everyone's delight. While Dusan and Alanna talked to each other and their dragons about getting a Rider's sword, Eragon and Rhunon conversed privately.

"Eragon, how do you expect me to make them swords? Have you forgotten that I only rushed your because of the gravity of the circumstances?"

"I remember, Rhunon-elda. And I don't expect you to make two swords over as many nights; That'd be expecting a lot of you and it wouldn't be fair. But, I could make it easier for you by leaving one of the two here every day. You can use their bodies like you used mine, and you can pick your pace so you don't tire yourself. And you don't have to worry about their studies. Reading from scrolls isn't as important anymore. It's time for them to start putting what they've read to good use, to get some real experience. That's why they need swords. But it doesn't have to be Rider swords right away. I'd be content with regular swords for now, get them used to fighting with swords and not sticks, to build up the muscles needed for lifting such a weight. "

"You drive a fair bargain, Eragon. Very well. I will begin the process immediately, but it will be purifying the ore first. Until the ore is ready, your students can use some regular swords." She moved to the wall and took down two identical hand-and-a-half swords that were simple and undecorated.

"Those are perfect. Thank you so much, Rhunon-elda." Eragon smiled widely as he accepted the swords and the scabbards.

"And be sure to teach your students how to care for them. Even though they'll likely have Rider's swords for the rest of their days, they should still know how to hone a regular sword." Rhunon explained as she took two sets of the needed supplies from the wall, put one set in one pouch each, and gave the pouches to Eragon.

"I will. Thank you so much."

"Yeah, yeah." She said and went back to her work, thus dismissing him. Eragon chuckled and went back outside. He explained the situation to his students, who were disappointed to not be getting their swords today, but they understood. Accepting one sword, pouch and scabbard each, Eragon got back on Saphira and they flew to the training grounds where there were several pairs already sparring with swords. The dragons landed and the Riders dismounted. To clear the land, the dragons moved to the outskirts of the ring.

"Alright, then. First, you need to understand that these swords are not Rider swords and so they need to be maintained, lest they become nothing more than dull, over-sized knives." Eragon began as he sat down. Dusan sat on one side, Alanna on the other, and watched and listened as Eragon taught them how to care for their new swords. When he was done, he instructed them to do the same things he had, repeating in their own words what he had said. He corrected them when they were wrong but when he was satisfied they had learned what they needed to, he taught them some spells for fortifying the metal and the spell for blocking the edges so the edges weren't deadly for a practice fight. Thus prepared, he had them spar and watched them. He corrected Dusan out of a fit whenever he got hit, reminding him that he needed to keep his head when his temper flared, and he gave out tips for Alanna on her footwork and form. But, overall, he let them be.

When he noticed his students tiring, he let them finish the round they were in, away from which Alanna came away the victor, he called a halt to that aspect of practice. He showed them how to remove the wards blocking their swords edges and called over the dragons. After mounting, Eragon told his students that the dragons were now to fight, Riders to clash swords whenever they had the opportunity. He had them block the edges again before they took to the air.

Alanna was so excited! Her first fight on dragonback! Actually, the whole day had turned out to be pretty exciting, but this was certainly more fun. She loved flying on Draken and she thought the prospect of fighting another Rider on his back would be great training.

Thanks to Saphira, both dragons had already had experience with fighting each other, so all Alanna had to do was hang on and wait until she had a shot at her brother. But while her new sword had protective and enhancing wards, Draken and Jewel did not. As a result, both suffered from scratches and bites, and every injury was physically felt by their Rider, so the entire experience wasn't very fun. But, it did give Alanna and Dusan the experience of fighting on dragonback, which they'd need someday. Even though chances were slim that they'd have to fight another Rider and dragon, once the unbounded eggs hatch, the Riders will have to contend with wild dragons and fight with them over territory and breeding spots.

Jewel had the advantage over Draken with sheer size, strength, more training and experience with flying with her Rider on her back. All Draken had was his agility and the training he had already received.

After an hour, Draken was exhausted to the point where he didn't point any effort into flying, preferring to glide, though he still had to force himself to defend himself from Jewel, whom had more energy than he did with fourteen weeks of more flying experience, thus making her muscles more accustomed to long flights than Draken.

When Eragon and Saphira saw this, they called a halt to the session. Reprieved from flying, Draken landed and curled up around his mother's paw after Alanna had dismounted. Saphira bent down and nuzzled him, earning a purr from her son.

Not wanting to intrude on the mother-son affection moment, Alanna went over to her brother to heal the bruises she had caused and get some tips from him. Once Jewel was bruise free, she went over to Draken to heal him, a few injuries requiring more in-depth spells than a simple 'waise heill'.

With both dragons healed and resting, Eragon presented the Riders with a couple of gemstones, surrounded by softened leather strips which Alanna recognized as the leather that she made Draken's saddle from. The leather not only surrounded the gemstones, but seemed to make a sturdy necklace. There was enough leather to allow her to slip the necklace on without having to worry about a tie, which was nonexistent.

"Dusan, it was difficult for me to find this shade that would adequately match your eyes but I managed it. Yours is technically an aquamarine, thought he color is more similar to a cross between aquamarine and jade, similar to Jewel's scales." He explained as he handed the stone to Dusan, then he turned to Alana. "Alanna, with your eyes, I thought an amythest would be best." Eragon handed hers to her and Alanna held the gemstone up to the sun to admire it before she slipped it on. "I've also placed wards on them. From now, for as long as the necklaces are on, no one except yourselves will be able to see them, and no one except you or your sibling can scry you. I didn't think this would be necessary now that Queen Nasuada and her Council are working to rid evil from the country, but its best to be cautious. Because its natural form is pointed, I asked King Orik to send me a shaped one."

"Its beautiful, Eragon. Thank you so much." Alanna held up her necklace, which she had slipped around her neck, to admire it.

"But, there is a reason why I'm doing this, for both of you. Gemstones like amethysts, emeralds, diamonds, sapphires and rubies are all hollow stones, which means they can hold vast amounts of energy without breaking apart from the inside. You can transfer energy from just about any source except for fire and light into these gemstones, energy you can use when you most need it. My father gave me this ring, Aren, and all of the energy he had stored in it throughout his life. Unfortunately, I had to use it all to sustain a spell but even in three years its accumulated a lot of energy. I want you two to do the same with your new gemstones. Every night, before you go to bed, eat as much food as you can handle and put in as much energy as you can spare. But do so with caution. If you expel to much energy, even if its into your gemstones, you run the risk of dying. That's why I want you to eat as much food as you can stomach. The food you eat will become energy. If you get too close to the threshold, but not close enough, the energy you get from the food will bring you back enough to wake up the next morning. If the food doesn't work in time, your dragons should be able to sense it and give you enough energy to sustain you until the food can be digested. Its another benefit to having your minds so closely linked to your dragons. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Eragon." Dusan spoke up while Alanna just nodded, lost in the bold, crystal clear color of her amythest.

"Good. Then you've done enough for today. I'll see you both tomorrow. Oh, Jewel and Draken, I want you two to eat as much as you can every night as well. The more food you eat, the faster you'll grow. I also recommend transferring your own energy into your Rider's gem as well but its more important for you two to be well-rested every morning considering how you do so much flying. So, I leave it up to you to decide which takes priority."

_Yes, Eragon. _Both dragons responded, Draken a bit more sluggishly.

With a final nuzzle from his mother, Draken stood and let Alanna get into the saddle. Because they were already in Ellesmera, Draken just trotted through the city until he got to the treehouse and he simply flew onto his balcony. When Alanna dismounted, Draken curled up in his bowl and waited for his dinner. Instead of turning each individual rat loose for Draken to chase, she held one rat up by its tail and watched as Draken snapped it out of the air.

After Draken's dinner, Alanna ate her fill of the salad and fruit left for her, then she got ready for bed. Before she fell asleep, however, she transferred as much energy as she dared into her amethyst and fell asleep admiring the rich purple color of the gem.


	8. Chapter 7

Meanwhile, a figure cloaked in black roamed outside the gates of Teirm, his figure barely discernible in the darkness. He wasn't alone. He was merely the scout for a band of ten more of his kind. The lone figure sized up the gates preventing his entrance to the city and with a few irritated clicks of his tongue he rounded a corner in the gates only to hiss at the first ray of light coming over the horizon. He turned and ran away from the light, toward his brothers and sisters, eager to report what he had found.

For the next four weeks, Alanna studied vigorously. She was always eager to clash swords with Arya or her brother and took pride in her progress. She could fend off Arya for a time and was beginning to learn her brother's secrets. Sometimes, Eragon would have Arya, Alanna and Dusan fight with shields, which Alanna didn't really take well to. Maybe she just needed more practice. She tried to get Eragon to let her take home a shield so she can practice with another elf at home, but he wouldn't hear of it. He said that she needed to sleep sometime and with everything she was already taking home he was afraid she already wasn't sleeping enough.

When fighting on dragonback, she was starting to become more comfortable with leaving her legs loose and leaning forward to get at her brother. Poor Draken still suffered from some wounds, but he didn't have as many bruises as Jewel and Dusan did. Around her neck, her amethyst glowed with health. She plied one of King Orik's ambassador dwarves with questions on how to care for her amethyst. The dwarf, excited an elf was showing a dwarvish interest in gemstones, happily shared his supplies with her and taught her how to make her amethyst shine with brilliance, adding to its already marvelous beauty. Her gem also glowed with health from the amounts of energy she was transferring into it every night. This gave the purple gem a light that appeared to come from the inside.

Alanna's sword was also healthy. Its blade was pristine, the wards being reinforced every night to avoid the blade being marred. She had also asked Rhunon for tips on how to further care for her sword. She might have bitten off more than she could chew! It had taken Rhunon three nights to explain everything to Alanna's satisfaction.

During the day, Alanna did her best to learn as much as she could. She was finally taking to being a Rider and all that the title entails. She understood the importance of her lessons and often asked to take some scrolls home for overnight study. This led to her devouring her lessons until she had caught up with her brother. She still struggled with writing certain letters of the human alphabet, but she was slowly working those out. When it came to reading, she was second only to Arya.

Thanks to the Rimgar, Alanna quickly lost all body fat and developed enough muscles to keep her from looking like a twig. Her limbs continued to grow and she had begun to go through puberty, her chest was filling out. Her daily sessions of the Rimgar gave her the elven grace, though she didn't know it. All of these combinations gave her a more womanly appearance that turned several male heads whenever she was in town. This she also did not see, much to the males disappointment.

Draken was also improving dramatically. Every night he ate as many rats as he could which translated into him growing more every day until he was almost as tall as Jewel. His muscles were also strengthening all the time so he no longer tired as easily as he used to. To help this along, he flew through water whenever he had the chance. He excelled at swimming and was progressing through the dragon Rimgar quickly. As a result of the amount of physical work he puts in every day, his muscles grew more and more pronounced. Every limb became thicker, his chest broader, his neck long and limber. After three months of life, his body was finally being accustomed to the long hours of flight and training.

As partners, Alanna and Draken's mental link grew stronger. Every day, Saphira would take her pupils further from the Crags, thus testing the mental links with the Riders. Alanna could remain connected to Draken from five leagues away and their thoughts began to merge. Due to their personalities, both cuddled whenever they had the chance, Alanna often scratching Draken behind his jaw with Draken curled around her. At three months of age, Draken now stood taller than Alanna, so he could no longer curl up at her belly and instead she was the one laying at his belly.

Seeing the chances in his students, Eragon stopped by Rhunon's workshop one evening. To his delight, Rhunon proclaimed the ore ready for use. The next day, Alanna and Draken were both excused from studies and sent to Rhunon's workshop. When Alanna learned she would be helping Rhunon make her own Rider sword over the next few days, she was ecstatic. It was the final piece in her Rider puzzle, the key she was missing. All of the training in the world wouldn't do a whole lot of good unless she had a sword because she could easily use too much magic and be killed by her opponent if the magic didn't do it first. And if Draken helped support the spell, he would be just as tired as she would be, if not also killed.

Alanna was a little apprehensive about Rhunon needing to borrow her body to get around her oath, but opened her mind to Rhunon anyway. If this was the only way to get a sword…Thankfully, they didn't need to meld minds just yet.

First, after donning a jerkin and apron, Alanna helped Rhunon build up the fire in the pre-made smelter. Using a couple of bellows and striking downward alternately, they supplied the fire with fresh air. Because of the steady beat needed to keep the fire fed, Alanna lost track of time.

When Rhunon declared it ready, Alanna shoveled the glowing charcoals out of the fire until the metal was exposed, then she had to shovel an inch of the fine white ash onto the metal until it was completely covered.

"Enough," Rhunon exclaimed, shocking Alanna. "We can do no more until the sun sets. Let's talk about the blade, hmm? How do you prefer to fight?"

"Well, Eragon's been getting us to fight with shields as well, but I haven't taken to it like I have to everything else. I don't know if I'm just not good at it or if I just need to practice more. But when I don't have a shield, I fight with one hand on the sword and I use my other hand for balance, but when I need to deliver a powerful stroke or block then I need both hands on the hilt."

"And what about the length of your blade?"

"Well, I went to Valtharos Hall to see Tamerlien. Besides Brisingr, I had not seen a Rider's sword before so I wanted to see what might suit me. I'd like the same length blade as Tamerlein, but I'd also like to be less wide, and smaller everything else. My hands aren't as large as Arva's were."

"Yes, that goes without saying. Tamerlein, while it did provide you with options, just isn't suited for anyone but Arva. Now, would you like the blade to be straight, curved or somewhere in between?"

"I think straight would be better for a cleaner cut, longer reach."

"Very good reasons. Guard preferences?"

"None. I'll leave that up to you."

"And you already said you wanted the width of the blade to be less than Tamerlein. How do you feel about Brisingr's width?"

"I haven't held the sword so I can't be sure on how the width would affect the sword, but perhaps just a few hairs thinner, on account of my body. Wouldn't that make the sword lighter? But I wouldn't like it so thin that it breaks or anything. "

"You know as well as I do that the Rider swords are impervious to most magic and are impossible to damage by normal means. There is no fear of breaking the blade. But I do understand what you mean to say and the blade will be thinner than Brisingr's but not overly so. A couple of inches less should suffice. Now then." Rhunon then stood, with some difficulty Alanna noted, and made her way to a wall of pokers. She grabbed one and tossed it at Alana as she picked up a second. "Let me see you fight."

Alanna was stunned as she followed Rhunon outside, away from the smelter and the workshop. Rhunon turned, pointed her poker and waited. Alanna forced herself to relax, reminding herself that she had to fight someone besides Arya and Dusan eventually, and got into her favorite pose. They stood there, still as stone, until a distraction came along. Due to her discipline, it was not Alanna who was distracted. Seeing Rhunon's glance away, Alanna jumped forward to poke Rhunon in the gut before she danced away. Rhunon chuckled and began the fight in earnest.

When Alanna was beginning to get sore from working her muscles so hard and sweat beaded her forehead, rivulets running down her back. Seeing this, Rhunon broke the fight and the two made their way back to the workshop for some water and food. After the break, Alanna didn't want to sit around and do nothing so she offered to help Rhunon, doing whatever tasks Rhunon deemed she was able to do without damaging anything, which Rhunon took advantage of.

So Alanna helped Rhunon tidy up the workshop until the last bit of light had left the sky. At which point, Rhunon, Alanna and Draken all had to help to break open the smelter, remove the brightsteel, the special steel that the Rider swords are made out of, and break the steel into fist sized chunks. For the larger pieces, Rhunon had to use magic to break them into the proper size.

After the pieces were the right size, Rhunon gathered up the pieces of certain colors and put them on a tabletop that she had cleared off before.

"Alright. We'll need to meld minds now. Are you ready?" Rhunon explained, sitting in a chair.

"Yes, Rhunon-elda." Alanna said even as she broke down her mental barriers, willing her soul to relax.

"Then I apologize in advance. I will have to get used to your body, your limbs, before we can begin the actual work. So there is a chance you will be hurt to some extent." Rhunon closed her eyes and immediately Alanna felt Rhunon's mind enter and take over her own. Forcing herself to relax, Alanna resisted the urge to kick out the intruder.

Once the initial shock had passed, Alanna was actually quite surprised by the feel of her limbs moving without her permission. It was certainly strange, to say the least.

As she watched, Rhunon took the pieces to a fire and heated the metal until it glowed cherry red, then she picked them out, placed them on the table again. Examining them quickly, she grabbed some pieces of a certain color and went to the anvil. There, she hammered them into plates before she dropped them into a trough of brine.

Once every plate had been doused, Rhunon grabbed a plate and some sandpaper and scoured the black crust off of the metal until the surface was crystalline, then she set it aside. With the next piece, she repeated the process but put it away from the first. Curious, Alanna delved a little into Rhunon's mind, enough to know why she was doing that. Sorting through the vast amount of knowledge, Alanna learned that Rhunon could see things in the metal that Alanna could not and that Rhunon was sorting the plates based on purity and overall hardness.

Displeased by the dents she had made, she broke each plate into flakes that were similar in size to Draken's scales. Once all of the plates were broken up, she grabbed the flakes and made a brick mold out of them, then covered it with clay. She then reheated it until it was white, removed the brick from the fire, broke open the clay and pounded the metal into a bar.

Once she had done that, she cut the metal down the middle, folded the two halves together and pounded them together again before she reheated it. She repeated this process six more times before she went back to begin again with shaping the flakes from each pile into a brick. While one brick was heating, she'd make another brick with another pile of flakes. While she pounded the hard bricks seven times, she had to hammer the softer steel ten times. She explained that this metal would be the spine of the sword and had to be soft to absorb the shock from blows, and had to allow the sword to bend as needed without breaking.

After that, she took the harder steel bars and twisted them together seven times and then pounded it straight. Again, this repeated this six times. Once that was done, she flattened the metal into a rectangle and cut it in half lengthwise and bend both halved into a V.

Then she placed the softer metal between the two halves of harder steel and hammered away again to form the blank of the sword, hammering from the bottom up.

_Rhunon-elda, Saphira and Eragon come. _Draken informed us, having been vigilant while Alanna had been absorbed with Rhunon's swordsmithing.

_Ah, lovely! What timing that boy has! I could use Saphira's help. _Rhunon replied and stopped working momentarily. She turned to face Eragon, whom was at the entrance to the workshop. He lifted a brow at Alanna and then to the sword.

"You need Saphira?"

With Alanna's voice, Rhunon replied affirmatively. Eragon nodded and then Saphira's massive eye appeared.

"Oh, yes. I forgot to take into account her size. It will be difficult for her to get a small enough flame in here, wouldn't it?"

"Yes. Well, perhaps I can help. I can add energy to 'flame' to increase the temperature. I've got the energy to sustain a flame as hot as a volcano." Eragon suggested as he tapped the sapphire on the pommel of his sword.

"Perhaps that will work. Are you sure you can spare the energy, though?"

"Of course I can. For three years I've been storing energy in my sword's sapphire. I've got the energy." He walked over to Alanna and conjured up the spell. The spell started out as a simple fire but, as Eragon added energy, the fire grew into a white-hot inferno that he kept tightly leased on a six-inch section of the blade which Rhunon hammered. Together, they made their way up the blade.

_Rhunon-elda, how did Eragon know that we needed fire for this section?_

_Because this is exactly how I forged Brisingr for him. After the Fall of the Riders, I swore I would never create another sword. But I had to circumvent that oath to give Eragon a sword meant for him. By then, he had lost his original sword, Zar'roc, to Murtagh and a simple staff, no matter how reinforced, wouldn't have sufficed to slay Galbatorix. Eragon found the brightsteel we're working now and he loaned me his body just as you are so I could make a sword designed especially for him. _

_Zar'roc? How did Eragon come to have it? Wasn't it forged for Morzan?_

_Yes, it was, but that is something you'll have to ask him. It's not my place to divulge someone else's past where I am not concerned. _

_Yes, Rhunon-elda. _

After the blade had been heated and hammered again, the blank was finished. Rhunon decided it was late enough, the rest could wait for tomorrow, and withdrew herself from Alanna's body and mind.

Regaining control over her body, Alanna seemed to wake up from a daze. It took her a few minutes to remember how to do simple things, but when she did she immediately sat down to regain her thoughts.

"How are you holding up, Alanna?"

"Okay…I guess. Still trying to remember how to think."

To that, Eragon chuckled. "Don't you worry. You'll have all of tomorrow to remember everything. Even if Rhunon doesn't need you tomorrow, you deserve a rest."

"Yes. I can do the rest of this myself, Alanna. You go rest up. I expect you'll need all of your energy when this sword is finished so you can swing it around and get used to it. Oh and don't forget that you get to name it. You should think about that. It'll be reminiscent of Draken. His belly scales on the outer, deep purple on the inner."

"I can't wait to see it, Rhunon-elda! It sounds so beautiful."

"And it'll be thinner than usual so it'll appear to be more graceful, like yourself actually. Now, then, its late and I have to continue this in the morning so good night." Rhunon shooed Alanna and Eragon away in a way that was similar to how one would chase away a stray cat. "Oh, and Alanna, it'll take me the better part of a week to finish everything. I know I know nothing of Rider training and whatnot, but it makes sense to me for you to go back to training while I finish this. No use honing those limbs of yours only to let them go slack."

"Rhunon-elda, are you sure you don't need her help? When you did it with me, I stayed until you used the finer stones on the blade." Eragon asked.

"I decided that while I cannot begin the process of a making a sword on my own, I can finish the job and this would certainly constitute."

"Yes, ma'am. It's what you think that matters when circumventing your own oath."

"Very good! You remembered. Now, enough chitchat. Good night." Rhunon closed the door, leaving Eragon and Alanna in the dark.

"Would you like me to return to training, Eragon?"

"Rhunon's right about the training. While I'm sure you'd appreciate a week away from your studies, it'd do more harm than good. Even with your considerable progress, Alanna, there is still much more you have to learn. But I'm not inconsiderate enough for me to ask you to be at the Crags this morning rested and ready. So, take today to sleep and recover and come back to training tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." Alanna climbed into Draken's saddle. She heard Eragon grunt in acknowledgement as he floated onto Saphira.

_I'll be returning to training tomorrow, Alanna. Will you be alright on your own?_

_Yes, of course I will. Eragon's right. I should sleep. I probably won't even leave the tree house._

_Okay. It just makes me nervous, leaving you alone. _

_I know. But I'll be fine. And I'm not as helpless as I used to be. _She patted the sword Rhunon had let her keep for the time being.

_I know. You've become quite deadly with that metal stick. I've been watching. It makes me shudder to think about how much more deadly you'll be with your new stick._

_Yeah, this sword is great for practicing, but it's not very practical for a real battle. It'd break in my hands without the wards upon the first strike and then it'd be useless. A Rider's sword, however, will-_

_Never break, dull and can break through most magicks. _Draken grumbled. _I've heard about little else since you got that stick. But I'm glad you're excited, and you're right. I'd much rather entrust our lives to a metal stick that can't be depreciated. _He said as he took to the air, angling toward the treehouse. _Now, it's early and we should sleep._

_Yes ,_Alanna yawned. _I agree. _

For the short flight to their treehouse, it was difficult for Alanna to stay awake. She actually slumped all of the way forward in the saddle to rest her body against Draken's neck. She was asleep before long.


	9. Chapter 8

Alanna woke up the next morning in her own bed, tucked under the covers. Since she remembered only falling asleep draped across Draken's neck, she figured he must have tucked her in. It wouldn't have been impossible; she had left her legs loose. When she looked around, she found the hallway connecting her room to the main room had scratches in the wood, a testimony to Draken's scales raking across them. Chuckling, she tried to connect her mind to Draken, but he was out of range. Immediately, loneliness engulfed her. She had had her mind connected to him every day since he had hatched. To have him out of reach was crippling.

After a bit, she shook off her mood and washed, brushed her long straight black tresses, and dressed for the day. Draken's rat tank was empty so she put it by the front door. Grabbing a small knapsack, Alanna emptied the fruit bowl into the knapsack and then slung it across her back. She didn't feel like staying indoors today. She was rested and no doubt would sleep very well tonight as well, but she couldn't sleep the whole day away. So, she jogged into the city. She wanted to talk to Rhunon. Seeing the sword unfold under her hands had really impacted her and she wanted to learn more.

Rhunon was working over the fire when she got to Rhunon's shop.

"Rhunon-elda." She called. Rhunon looked up. "Alanna. I thought you would be abed all day."

"I slept, but I didn't want to sleep away the whole day. I'd be awake during the night when I should be sleeping, and sleeping during the day when I should be training. I'll sleep as long as I can tonight, though, to rid myself of any lingering tiredness."

"Whatever you please. I cannot tell you what to do, now that you outrank me. So, tell me, what brings you here? Come to check up on your sword?"

"Partly. I also wanted to ask you if you'd be amenable to me watching you work when I have free time?"

"Of course. You weren't the only one who felt that click last night. Knowing that, of course you may."

"Great! Thanks so much, Rhunon-elda!" She put her knapsack down in a corner away from everything and eagerly learned what she could from Rhunon as she explained all about refining and the different thicknesses that are needed for the different weapons. Once the first stage of refining Alanna's new sword was done, Rhunon showed Alanna how to pump the bellows while also drawing the sword through the fire until the edges were orange and the spine was bright red. Rhunon dunked the sword into some water and waited for it to cool a little before she removed it and went back to refining, using much finer stones this time. Once the refining was done, Rhunon carved the groove of the blade and set about polishing the blade, which was quite similar to how Alanna polished hers.

After a few hours, they took a break, during which time Alanna showed Rhunon her temporary sword. Rhunon examined it and was pleased with how well Alanna had maintained it. Rhunon then examined it more in-depth, leaving Alanna with enough time to eat some fruit.

After Rhunon returned the sword to Alanna, Rhunon went back to work, but this time she worked on another project so Alanna could continue to learn.

For the rest of the day, until the sun began to go down, Alanna learned from Rhunon and helped where she could. Rhunon actually liked the enthusiasm Alanna showed and answered all of her questions with patience, even explaining things further than Alanna had asked for.

Even though Alanna wanted to stay overnight to help work with the metal, Rhunon wouldn't hear of it and sent her home, promising she could stop by whenever she had the free time and the energy to do so. With the door closed in her face once again, Alanna went back to her treehouse to wait for Draken.

When Draken came home, Draken updated her on his day. Now that he was flying, he began to learn things instead of just exercising all day. He learned about the wind currents and what herbs are good for his digestion, how to go about getting mate (which make the situation really awkward for Draken, Saphira and Firnen), and other dragon things. So, today, he learned about weather patterns, and since it was important, Draken shared his lesson with Alanna and she fed him dinner, ate her own and went about her evening routine which consisted of washing, brushing her hair, honing her sword for tomorrow and transferring energy into her amythest as she cared for it.

With everything done, including Draken's lesson, Alanna curled up under Draken's wing and fell asleep.

**(Okay, that's it for this update. Hope you enjoyed the book as it stands so far. While I appreciate favorites and follows, I really put faith in reviews so please don't be afraid to tell me what you're thinking. I welcome your thoughts! I really need to know what you are thinking, any ideas you might have or predictions. Even if it's something like grammar, spelling and punctuation. Every review will help to shape this book so please be honest! Thank you so much for reading this far and I promise I will update again soon.)**


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